Satsu's Tale
by WheatGerm14
Summary: This is the story of what happened to Sayuri's sister, Satsu, after she ran away from the place she was living. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Satsu. You may have never heard of me before, but you have heard of my younger sister, for she is the legendary geisha, Sayuri. I have not seen my sister for many years, ever since the day I ran away from my own okiya, but I have heard many stories of her success. The night I ran away, Sayuri and I had planned to meet and go away together, but she never arrived at our meeting place. I was forced to go on by myself. This is the tale of what happened to me after that night, this is my story. It is not the tale of a geisha, but rather one of a girl struggling to survive, and to find her way home.


	2. Satsu Begins Her Journey

It all begins the night I ran away. I had to wait until everyone was asleep. This was the easy part, seeing as how it had been a long, tiring day, and everyone was tired, and they welcomed sleep. As dark set in outside, I crept from my futon, bringing with me only a small bag with a little food I had taken from the kitchen, and the money I had been saving to help get me home. I carefully stepped around the sleeping areas of the other maids, being cautious not to bump any of them, and disrupt their rest. I went through the hall, making sure to be very silent, for the head of my okiya was a very light sleeper. I knew that if I was caught, I would be punished most severely, and all chances of escape would be lost. I slowly made my way out of the okiya, and into the night.

I ran as quickly as I could to the spot where I planned to meet Chiyo, as my sister was called before she was given a geisha name. I waited there for over an hour, never giving up hope that she would come. I listed in the night for any sounds of her approaching. She never came. After about an hour of waiting, I knew that I had to leave, if I wanted any chance of escaping. Just as I was making my way through the streets, towards the end of our district, a tearoom door opened up and beautiful geisha and handsome men came out into the night. I threw myself into the nearest doorway I could find, and waited silently for the people to pass. As soon as they did, I went on my way.

I traveled in the direction that I had come from, when I was first delivered to my okiya. My sister and I had been taken from our home village, put on a train, and brought here. Down the dark streets I went, being sure to stay out of sight from anyone that passed by. I so desperately wanted to go past Chiyo's okiya to see if she was there, but I knew I couldn't. I had visited there before, and would too easily be recognized, if seen. After over an hour of walking, I came to the end of the geisha district. I knew I was coming closer to the train station. Suddenly, as I turned a corner, it came into view. I had done it. The first part of my journey was complete.


	3. The Train Station

The moment the train station came into view, I felt a wave of relief sweep over me. I had made it this far. I walked proudly toward the ticket office. The woman at the counter asked me where I was traveling to. I told her the name of my home town. That one word had been my very motivation to escape from the _jorou-ya_ where I was forced to go. The town of my birth, where my father was: Yoroido. The women gave me the price of the ticket, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It would cost me so much more than the small amount of money I had saved. I asked the woman if she was sure, if there was any way I could get a ticket for a lower price. She told me that it was the cheapest they had. I didn't know what to do. But I could feel my hopes of escape leaving my soul as I walked away from the ticket booth. I had no idea how to get to Yoroido from here. As I was walking away, I noticed a map on the ground. It didn't seem to belong to anyone, so I picked it up. I sat outside on the ground looking at the map. It was a map of Japan. I could see where I was now on there, and as I looked farther down on the page, I saw Yoroido. What was left of my hope disappeared. Yoroido was very far away from where I was. It would take me days, maybe weeks to reach it if I went by foot, but I had no choice. I couldn't go back to the _jorou-ya, _for I would be punished greatly for trying to runaway. My only choice was to go on towards Yoroido by foot. There was so much there I wanted to go back to. My father was there, and well as the boy I had fallen in love with, Tani Sugi. I could smell the fish from our hometown market, just thinking about it.

I knew that for me to begin the journey home, I would need more than what I had brought. Next to the train station, there was a market. I bought a few rations of food there, with the money I had. It wouldn't be enough to get me all the way home, but it was a start. I also bought a cheap, second hand blanket, for when the nights got cold. I was left with very little money, and knew that I would have to somehow earn more later on, in my travels.

I set out on a road leading south, going away from the station, the market, and the _jorou-ya. _By now, dawn was drawing close, and light was beginning to come. The women at the _jorou-ya_ would soon notice my absence, and come looking for me. I knew I had to move quickly if I were to be safe from them. As I began my journey, I could feel some of the hope I had lost in the station, coming back to me. I was on my way home.


	4. The Storm and The Train

As I set off on my journey, my thoughts drifted to home. I didn't know how long it would take me to reach Yoroido, or what I would find there. I hoped with all my soul that my mother would still be alive; long enough so that I could see her one more time. I wanted to see my father, as well as Tani. Tani would have missed me greatly while I was gone, and would have wondered where I was. After many hours of walking, storm clouds started to cover the sky around me. I knew that I had to find shelter soon. Not only was rain coming, but night was starting to set, and it was slowly growing dark. I was still walking on the road that I had started on, but there were no trees around; I would be an ideal target for lightning. I picked up my pace, looking around me for any type of shelter. In the distance, I saw what looked like a cliff, with trees around it. I knew that was my best chance for survival. Rain had started to come down, and was gradually coming down harder and harder. The wind was picking up, and I could feel the temperature dropping. I wrapped the blanket that I had bought around me, and continued to run. Thunder sounded all around me, and I had a glimpse of lighting in the distance. The storm clouds were making it even darker out, and it was becoming difficult to see. I was coming closer to the cliff, and thought that I could faintly see a cave opening among the trees and rock. The lightning was getting closer and closer to me. I sprinted toward the opening, but as I grew close, a bolt of lighting hit one of the trees only a few feet from, causing it to split down the middle. I was terrified that the lighting would hit me. At last, I came to the cave. It was dark and damp inside. I looked around; the cave was fairly small. I was shaking with fright, and shivering from the cold. After awhile, the storm passed, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I lay down, curled up in a ball, trying to get warm. I was extremely tired, and slowly slipped into a deep sleep.

I didn't wake up until the next morning, when the sunlight streaming into the cave woke me up. Considering how dark it had been the night before, it seemed unnaturally bright out. The storm had passed, but it had done a lot of damage while it was there. As I stepped out of the cave into the morning, I could see many of the trees had lost branches, or had been knocked down. I could see the road that I had been following, and saw that it was flooded. I picked up my blanket and bag of supplies, and started back toward the road. I couldn't walk on the road, due to the fact it was flooded, so I walked beside it, following it once again. By looking at the direction the sun was rising, I knew that the road was still going south, and towards Yoroido. My father had taught me how to use the sun as a guide when I was little. As I walked, I thought about Chiyo, my sister that she had left behind. I had wanted to wait for her, but I knew that my only chance of getting away was to leave when I had. Had I stayed longer, someone would have found me, and taken me back to the _jorou-ya. _ I hoped Chiyo was okay, and that nothing bad had happened to her, to prevent her form meeting me the night I had run away. Someday, I promised myself, I would go back to find Chiyo, and bring her home again. Maybe my father would be able to help me. He would have never sent my sister and I away, if he had known how we would be treated. I continued walking, until suddenly, the road turned and stared going west. I knew that I had to keep going south, if I ever wanted to reach Yoroido, but I had wanted to stay on the road. I felt safer that way. I thought that maybe someone else would come along on the road and be able to help me, even though I knew that would never happen. This was a dirt road, one only traveled on by walkers and rickshaw drivers. Since the nearest village was miles away, no one would be walking near here. Even by rickshaw, it was take too long to travel on this road. Everyone traveled by train, or by the new, cement roads. There were none of those types of roads around here, since this was an area of fishing villages. Those roads would have been going the other way form the city I had left, towards the more populated areas. I felt the tears building up in my eyes, but I wouldn't let myself cry. I was stronger than that. I had to be strong, if I ever wanted to reach home, and be able to go back to help Chiyo. I took out the map that I had found at the train station. The road I had been on was on the map. It was the only road which had come in this direction, in this area. The people from the fishing villages almost never left home, and if they did, they took the train, just like Chiyo and I had been forced to do. I could see where I was on the map, and my heart sank. I had barely traveled a centimeter on the map, and Yoroido was at least twelve centimeters away. I would never get home if I kept going at this pace. I knew I had to keep going. I started walking away from the road, heading toward south.

I walked for many hours, and nothing happened. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, moving me forward. I was almost in a daze, and didn't notice anything around. Suddenly, I heard a noise in the distance. It was coming from behind me. I turned around, and noticed that I was walking only a few feet from a set of train tracks. The noise was getting louder and louder, and I could set the train coming towards me in the distance. In just a few minutes, it was very close. I saw the bars on the side of the train, used when men are working on; it gives them something to hold on to. I had an idea. I ran towards the train, and jumped with all my might, reaching for the handle bars. I felt my hand hit it, and I grabbed on. The train was moving extremely fast, and my bag was torn from my hands, and flew into the distance. I was now without food or a blanket. I was dangling off the side of the train. I reached my foot up, to a lower set of bars, and tried to get my balance. While trying though, my right hand lost its hold on the handle. I was terrified. I couldn't fall; the drop could kill me. I swung my right arm back around, and caught the handle again. I held on for with all my might, as the train continued to speed towards the south. I could feel the wind burn on my face, and I was shivering form the cold winds. I had been on the train for about an hour, when it started to slow down. I looked toward the front, and saw that it was turning towards the east. I had to get off before I was going the wrong way, and farther from Yoroido. Thankfully, the train was going slow enough while making that turn that I thought I would be able to get off safely. I jumped from the side. I hit the ground, and rolled away from the train.


End file.
